A7 in Garnet Red
 

I just picked up my Garnet Red A7. I thought it would be a very controversial color and not quite sure if it was suitable for the A7. Unfortunately out of all the color choices that was my favorite so I took a leap of faith and put a deposit on a red car. It finally came in and went to the dealership and fell in love. It's a beautiful car and it's not really a fire engine red or a racing red. Think more along brick red or maroon red. If anyone has seen the Lexus IS car in the maroon red the A7 is very similar.
As soon as I drove it off the lot people were looking and rolling down their windows asking about the car. It's a real head turner and I love the way it drives. Also there aren't ANY available Garnet reds in the USA when I checked a few days ago with a prestige package. I used Autotrader.com to check available dealer inventory and could only find one in a premium plus package.
When I went to various audi dealerships they had plenty of black, white and grey cars and one blue. Its nice having a color that will not be common on the roads

Congratulations! Beautiful car. I wasn't too sure about this car in red, either, but it looks fantastic. I'm loving my A7... stayed with Quartz Gray, same color as my old S5. Just like the color. Guess I'm boring!!

Enjoy every moment driving.

Your car is absolutely gorgeous! I understand your worries about the color beforehand; I would have been in doubt too. But after seeings these pics, I'm almost reconsidering the dakota grey A7, I'm probably going to buy this week... :D

Looks gorgeous! Congrats. I too would have hesitated with the red sight unseen, but looks like the gamble paid off.

I'll be placing an order for a new A7 next week when I get back from Europe.

I was leaning toward the Dakota Grey... but now am leaning white.

Dakota Grey and White would have been my 2nd tier color choices. I haven't seen the Dakota Grey in person but the white is nice, especially with the brown interior. I can tell you the color chart in the Audi A7 brochure is accurate. Also the blue is accurate...it almost looks black.
Anyone considering the Garnet Red don't hesitate. It truly is a stunning color and very unique and classy, but sporty. I was very scared and thought it would like like a racing red, but thank god it didn't. As mentioned earlier if you've seen the Lexus IS in red then the Audi is similar; maybe not as dark.
I'm coming from a Lexus IS350 Convertible and while I loved the car I'm even more impressed with the A7. I'm also a techie so having all these gadgets in the prestige package is really nice. I was surprised that the MMI player was able to play DVDs. I gave Galaxy Quest a test in the player and it looked and sounded good. The google earth overlay is nice and being able to turn the car into a hotspot is sweet.
Any A7 is great, but I would stick with colors which may not be as popular which will make it more unique. If you can get Havana Black jump on it because that color is discontinued due to the tsunami. Also the dealer told me that cars will be coming without backup cameras because the cameras come from Japan. They will be installed later on, if necessary

A7 Thoughts about Ownership
 

Now that I've had my car for a week I figured I would give everyone my thoughts. The car is a GREAT driving machine. Before purchasing the car I also considered the Infiniti M Series (M37 and M35h) and Porsche Panamera. I did like the Infiniti, but actually liked the M37 over the M35h, but I quickly ruled it out as not being quite right. Next up was the Panamera. What a beautiful car; both inside and out. Prior to test driving the car the salesman said I needed to "trust the car". I asked what he meant by that and he said to drive it and I will understand. One thing with this car is you sit low and is very difficult to see where the front and back of the car ends. This is what he meant by trust. He said rely on the parking sensors and cameras and once you get comfortable with that it will be easier. I really liked the start/stop technology of the car. Smooth acceleration and sporty ride. I also ruled the Panamera out because the base model is over $15k more than the A7, but if I factored in the AWD to a Panamera the price point is significantly higher. Also the customization of the Panamera made me nuts because everything is an option rather than "packages". Overall the A7 offered more for less.
Now onto the A7. Great car. It drives so effortlessly. Under normal acceleration the shift points are imperceptible and the RPMs typically were in the 1000 range. When you punch the car it really moves with little hesitation. And the gadgets...it has everything and this is something the panamera didn't have. The connectivity is a cool option and is where all car manufactures will need to go in order to be competitive. I tested out the MMI to watch a DVD and it worked perfectly. I copied over 20gig of podcasts (songs) and along with 6 cd's I have TONS of music to listen to. The bose sound system is great and much better than my previous IS350 Convertible. The prestige package is great, especially for the customizable climate controls for all passengers.
So while I love the car there are a few gripes I have. The gas mileage is NOWHERE near what the car is rated for. In the city I get 15mpg and on the highway just under 23mpg. The lower mileage wouldn't have altered my decision to buy the car, but it's annoying that it's so much different than advertised. Let me also emphasize I was driving like a nun...no hard accelerations, coasting towards a traffic light, etc.
Another thing that bothered me was the MMI controls. When you use the turn knob it does in the opposite direction from what you would expect. From what I hear it's not unique to the A7. If you're used to turning a horizontal dial to the right for "down" in a menu layout, and to the left for "up," it'll drive you crazy, as you'll constantly be back-tracking or looping from the top to the bottom of lists by accident. It would be nice if there was an option to change how the knob controls work; sorta like playing a video game that gives you an option to reconfigure the controls on the joystick.

Thanks for the update! When I test drove the A7 I was also really puzzled about the MMI knob. It turns in the wrong direction, yeah! I guess just it's a matter of getting used to, but agree on the option, that it should be customizable.

Beautiful!
 

I just ordered my A7 in Garnet Red this morning. Until I just saw your pictures, I wasn't sure what it was going to look like. Feeling much relieved:) Thanks for posting!

...now the waiting game...

Wanted to order one yesterday...
 

...but my wife said it would look too girly, so I had to settled with glacier white and black interior. Hmmm... will look distinct but not punchy!

I'm a guy and have the Garnet Red and its awesome. It's not a fire engine red and very classy. It was a head turner and many people looked at the car and commented on it...even after owning it for 2 years. It's sexy, but not loud